KMF suggestion scheme pays off for all

This year 254 employees signed up for the scheme, with 151 of them attaining their targets and adding over £373,000 to the 'productivity pot'. In the three years that the Productivity Scheme has been operating, the total savings made have reached £769,707, with £192,000 being distributed amongst those that have taken part. This year's share amounts to £522.50 each. The balance of the savings are re-invested by the company to further enhance its technological advantages in the world of precision sheet metal manufacture. Open to every employee from apprentices through to the shift managers and sales through to finance, the Productivity Share Scheme draws on the detailed knowledge of processes and technology that is within the company. Working either as individuals or as pre-arranged groups, employees have to suggest productivity improvements. However, it's here that the KMF scheme differs, as each suggestion has then to be driven through to completion by the scheme entrant. Once active, the improvements are monitored and savings collated by the scheme entrant, with the support of the company's continuous improvement team. To add a degree of fairness to the scheme, targets are set, dependent on the employee and his/her position within the business, with 'team members' having to realise £1,150 of savings, while technical and staff members must to achieve £3,500, in order to qualify for the annual share. Ideas this year covered improvements in a diverse range of subjects, including: improved CNC run paths; increased material utilisation, based on improved nesting of components; reduction in defect rates by implementing simple jigs and fixtures; simple method changes; practical health and safety improvements…..and many more, too numerous to mention individually. To provide a standard structure to the development of the ideas, each participant works through a guidance folder containing hints, tips, examples, costing guidance (very conservative figures were used in each project). These folders also served as a resource to collect and present the evidence, ready for approval by a small team headed up by KMF's business improvement manager, Keith Nichol, and the company's Continuous Improvement Team leader Dianne Hibell.